Nikujaga

Nikujaga is a type of dish known in Japan as yoshoku, or a Western-influenced recipe. It's a Japanese spin on classic beef stew; the name literally means "meat and potatoes." My version nudges it a little bit back toward its Western roots, with cubed beef chuck (or, if beef is pricey, pork shoulder) cooked low and slow, and lots of potatoes. It's great winter comfort food.

NIKUJAGA
1 lb. chuck roast (or pork shoulder), cut in cubes
Vegetable oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced or diced
1 small piece fresh ginger, cut in matchsticks
2 cloves minced garlic
4-5 cups dashi stock or water
2 lbs. waxy potatoes*, peeled and cut in large chunks
2 T. sugar
3 T. sake or cooking sherry
1 T. mirin
3 T. soy sauce
1 t. dark sesame oil
A handful of frozen peas (optional)
Chopped green onions to garnish
White rice

In a large saucepan, sear meat in oil, then saute with medium onion, ginger and garlic. Add dashi or water to cover and cook on medium-low heat until meat is tender.

Add potatoes. If needed, add dashi stock to cover, then add sugar, sake, mirin, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to a boil, drop in a lid that's smaller than the pot (to encourage evaporation) and simmer over medium-low heat until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed and the potatoes have turned golden. If using peas, defrost under hot water and toss in near the end of cook time. Garnish generously with green onions and serve with white rice. (You get extra points if you say "Itadakimasu!" before digging in.)

Serves, I dunno, 4 to 6.

Source: Soozcat

* Red potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, etc. are "waxy." They hold their shape better as they absorb the cooking liquid. Russet potatoes, which are considered "floury," will turn to gloopy mush in this dish.

Curtis' Favorite Chocolate Applesauce Cookies

This recipe goes by a few names. Mine obviously refers to the fact that this is Curtis' favorite cookie. My brother-in-law calls it "Brian's Quorum Applesauce Cookies." (Why "quorum?" Probably because one batch makes enough cookies to feed a quorum, or even a plenum.) You can mess around with the ingredients a bit and the final product will still turn out well. I've used pumpkin puree when I didn't have applesauce on hand, and the resulting cookies tasted different but were no less delicious. Two things, though: 1) do NOT use metal bowls for this and 2) make sure your baking soda is nice and fresh, as it's the only leavening agent.

CURTIS' FAVORITE CHOCOLATE APPLESAUCE COOKIES
1 cup softened butter
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
4 2/3 cups flour*
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. salt
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup walnuts (or more if desired)
2 cups applesauce
1 12 oz. package chocolate chips
2 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, spices and salt until well combined. In a third bowl (this can be a small one), mix together the applesauce and baking soda (it should fizz), then add to the butter mixture in the large bowl. Slowly add dry flour mixture to wet butter mixture until all is combined. Then add oatmeal, nuts and chocolate chips and mix well.

Drop spoonfuls onto GREASED cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Makes a lot, but Curtis always seems to make them disappear.

Contributor: Curtis. And also Brian.

*For better taste and texture, Curtis recommends substituting 1 cup of the white flour with either whole wheat flour or wheat germ.

After Thanksgiving Turkey Quiche

I shamelessly stole this one from Fen! MUAHAHAHA!

Seriously tho, it's delicious. You should do this after Thanksgiving if you have enough leftovers.

TURKEY QUICHE
3 c. stuffing
1 c. chopped turkey
1 c. grated Swiss cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1 can evaporated milk (5 1/2 oz)
1/8 t. pepper

Press stuffing into 9" pie plate and bake at 400° for 10 minutes.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour into baked shell. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes, until center is set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves, uh, as many people as will eat a 9" quiche. More if you make a side salad.

Contributor: Fen Eatough

Marshmallow Dip

Ah, creamy, dreamy marshmallow dip. Fresh fruit's naughty friend. As my cousin Phil used to say, "The mayo makes it a little white-trash, but who cares... it's so delicious." Wise words indeed.

MARSHMALLOW DIP
1 pint marshmallow creme
1 pint mayonnaise
Grated ginger to taste
Zest of 1 orange, grated

Mix it all together. Maybe let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two so the flavors get to know each other. Serve with fresh strawberries, apple slices, banana chunks, or any other kind of firm, dippable fruit your little heart desires. (It's a good idea to skewer the fruit chunks with toothpicks, so no fingers go in the dip.)

Serves a party.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Feather Bed Rolls

This recipe was typed, so there's no way to tell who the contributor was. Mysteeeeeerious!

WARNING: This recipe has not been fully tested. Lisa Ashton tried it a few years ago and it did not turn out well, so further testing is necessary. Proceed at your own risk.

FEATHER BED ROLLS
1 cake yeast*
2½ cups milk
2 t. sugar
½ cup shortening
1 t. salt
5 cups flour

Scald the milk, then remove it from the stove and add shortening and sugar. When cool, add yeast cake that has been dissolved in water, and the flour and salt that have been sifted together. Beat the mixture, then let rise until doubled in bulk.

Beat again, and fill muffin pans one-third full.* Let rise again until doubled in bulk. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven.*

*A couple of notes: a cake of live yeast equals about three ¼-oz. packages of active dry yeast, or a bit less instant yeast; you don't have to dissolve either of these in water, although active dry yeast does benefit from being "proofed" beforehand. The recipe doesn't specify, but grease and flour the muffin pans to make sure the rolls don't stick. And a "moderate oven" translates to between 350° and 375° F -- start at the low end of the range and check the rolls after 20 minutes to see if they're done; if not, give them a few minutes more time.

Contributor: mysteeeeeeeerious stranger (probably Catharina Kest)

Salmon or Tuna Patties

Curtis didn't like fish patties growing up. His mom would make them for a quick meal on busy nights and I think he thought they were gross. But V loves these, and Curtis actually likes them too. Try them on a busy night!

SALMON OR TUNA PATTIES
1 small onion, diced
1 T. butter
15 oz. salmon or tuna, drained and flaked, any bones or dark skin removed
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup breadcrumbs (preferably panko)
¼ cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. oil

In a small frying pan over medium heat, cook onion in butter until soft but not browned, about 6 minutes; remove from heat. Transfer onion to a large bowl to cool completely, then add salmon or tuna, eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well and use hands to shape the mixture into 4 to 6 patties about ½" thick.

Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook until browned on one side, about 5 minutes, then carefully flip and cook the other side until browned, another 5 minutes. Serve hot with tartar sauce. Goes especially well with creamed potatoes and peas.

Makes 4 to 6 patties.

Shamelessly stolen from Look and Cook by Tina Davis.

Curtis' Gringo Chicken Enchiladas

Why are they "gringo" chicken enchiladas, you ask? Honestly, Curtis never came across any enchiladas that looked like this when he was living in Mexico. Their origins definitely lie north of the Rio Grande.

That said, they are pretty darn tasty.

CURTIS' GRINGO CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
12 flour tortillas

Filling:
2 cups chicken
2 cups cheese
½ cup chopped onion
1 10 oz. can enchilada sauce*

Sauce:
2 10 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1 4 oz. can diced green chilies
1 cup cheese
½ cup sour cream or yogurt
¼ t. salt

Dice up the chicken (turkey breasts are sometimes cheaper and just as good) and onion. Cook chicken; toss onion in at the last 5 minutes. Add the cheese to the chicken/onion mixture. If you let the chicken cool 10 minutes or so, the cheese won't melt as much, but it's up to you.

Get out a 9x13" pan (I like glass best). Put a little enchilada sauce in the bottom and swirl it around to keep the tortillas from sticking to the pan.

If you are blessed with a gas stove, cook the tortillas over a flame for 10 to 15 seconds each side. This will add to the taste, trust me. Then put 1-2 spoonfuls of enchilada sauce on the tortilla and spread it around. Put a good dollop of the filling in it, roll it up and place it in the 9x13" pan.

When all the tortillas that will fit are filled and placed in, put the rest of the chicken mixture (if any) on top. Pour the sauce over the enchiladas, making sure it coats well. Sprinkle the remaining enchilada sauce and a handful of cheese over the top.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, uncovering for the last ten minutes. Serve and bask in the oohs and aahs from the crowd.

Serves about 8 gringos.

Source: the manly Curtis Houghton

*We usually use green enchilada sauce for chicken enchiladas, but you do you.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Yeah, we already have a tuna noodle casserole on the site. But we made this the other night and it was SUPER DELICIOUS, so we're passing it on.

CHICKEN NOODLE CASSEROLE
12 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained
2 10 oz. cans chunk chicken breast, drained (or the same amount of rotisserie or boiled chicken meat)
2 10 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk (or use water)
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped (or use half an onion, diced fine and sautéed until soft)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1½ cups frozen peas and carrots
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
enough melted butter to moisten the breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, cream soup, mayonnaise, milk (or water), onions, cheese and frozen peas and carrots. Stir until combined, then gently stir in cooked noodles. Pour into baking dish. Combine breadcrumbs and butter and sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake, uncovered, about 30-35 minutes or until edges are bubbly and top is golden brown. The cheese and mayo will sort of disappear into the cream of whatsit sauce, creating savory casserole goodness. You can also substitute other frozen green veggies for the peas and carrots if you prefer them, or if you don't happen to have peas and carrots in the freezer (we used a bag of frozen broccoli instead and it turned out fantastic).

Serves 6 happy people.

Source: shamelessly stolen and tweaked from the Internet.

Ärter med Fläsk (Pea Soup with Pork)

You may think you don't like pea soup. But if you've only ever had pea soup from a can, YOU HAVE NEVER HAD PEA SOUP. Make this once and you will never go back to the can.

In Sweden, Thursday is the traditional day to serve pea soup and pancakes. Or you could toss tradition out the window and make them any day you like.

ÄRTER MED FLÄSK
1 lb. (about 2 cups) dried yellow whole peas*
5 cups cold water
2 finely chopped medium onions
1 whole onion, peeled and studded with 2 or 3 cloves
1 lb. salt pork, most fat removed
1 t. leaf marjoram
½ t. thyme
salt (if needed) and pepper

Pick over dried peas, removing any foreign material, then wash in cold running water and place in a 2- to 3-quart pot. Cover with 5 cups cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil briskly for 2-3 minutes, then turn off heat and let peas soak for an hour.

Skim off any pea husks that have risen to the surface. Cut the salt pork in pieces and add it, the whole onion, finely chopped onions, marjoram and thyme to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then immediately lower the heat and simmer with pot partially covered for 1¼ hours or until peas are very tender. Remove the whole onion. Be sure to taste before adding salt -- it may not need any. Serve with fresh ground pepper. You may also remove the salt pork and serve it separately with a bit of spicy brown mustard if you like.

* You can substitute yellow split peas, but skip the soaking process and use only 4 cups cold water.

Dutch Apple Puffs

Grandma Kest used to make these. Now you can too. And you'll have friends, family and total strangers following you around, shamelessly begging for more.

DUTCH APPLE PUFFS
1 cup warm water
1 envelope dry yeast
⅓ cup sugar
1 t. salt
1 egg
¼ cup margarine or butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ t. cinnamon
⅛ t. nutmeg
⅛ t. ground cloves
5 large cooking apples
1 to 2 quarts oil for deep frying

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, salt, egg and oil and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add flour and spices. Beat another 3 minutes. Cover bowl and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until the batter doubles in bulk.

Core and peel apples; slice into thin rings (about ¼" thick). Dip rings into flour, then into yeast batter. Drop into hot oil (375° F) and fry until golden brown. Turn and fry on other side. Fish out puffs and let drain on paper towels.

While puffs are still hot, roll them in a bowl of powdered sugar. Put on serving plate and top with another dusting of powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Serves many.

Contributor: Catharina Kest, via Karin Buck

Tuna Noodle Casserole

David loves casseroles. LOVES THEM. He keeps talking about starting a food truck that sells nothing but casserole. (Gold mine idea, btw.) In his honor, we are proud to present:

TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE
2 10¾ oz. cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup milk
1 cup mayonnaise
3 cans (6 oz. each) quality tuna, drained and flaked (life's too short to eat bad tuna)
1 cup frozen baby peas
 ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
12 oz. egg noodles, cooked and drained
1 cup breadcrumbs (panko is fantastic for this)
enough melted butter to moisten the breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9x13" glass baking dish, thoroughly combine soup, milk, mayo, tuna, peas, bell pepper and noodles. Stir together breadcrumbs and butter and sprinkle them over the top of the casserole. Bake about 30 minutes, until the topping is nicely browned and the casserole is bubbling around the edges of the dish.

Serves 6.

You can transform this recipe into Chicken Noodle Casserole by substituting 2 cans of cream of chicken soup for the cream of mushroom and 20 oz. canned chicken chunks, drained and flaked, for the tuna -- or just use fresh chicken meat picked from a boiled or rotisserie chicken. Oh yeah, and David would tell you not to mess with breadcrumbs and butter; go grab a good handful of potato chips, crunch them up good and sprinkle THAT over the casserole instead.

Shamelessly stolen and tweaked from the Look and Cook Book by Tina Davis.

Swiss Steak

Dan told me he NEEDED this recipe. I told him his wish was my command.
One call to Mom later...

SWISS STEAK
1 round steak, 2 to 3 pounds
seasoned flour (add some salt, pepper and garlic powder to about a half-cup of flour)
2 T. oil
2 or 3 onions, coarsely chopped
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1-2 bay leaves

Cut round steak into serving-sized pieces and dredge both sides in seasoned flour. In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil until it is hot. Add pieces of steak, browning well on both sides. After all pieces are browned, spread onions over the steak in the pan. Add water (enough to barely cover the meat), the soup mix and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until meat is very tender, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the skillet (and adding extra water if necessary).

[It has been my sad experience that if you keep on cooking after the meat is tender, you will end up with what Curtis calls "Swiss," since the steak sorta breaks up and disappears into the gravy. Don't let this happen to you.]

To serve, transfer the meat and onions to a serving bowl, thicken the pan juices to make gravy (a little cornstarch and water works well) and pour the gravy over the meat. Goes well with mashed potatoes and a cooked green veggie.

Variation: This recipe makes Swiss steak with brown gravy. If you want Swiss steak with red gravy, substitute some of the volume of the water with a can of plain diced tomatoes.

Probably serves 6, because most of our family recipes serve 6.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Beef Pinwheel Rolls

Dan messaged me with a request for this recipe, which he called "Beef Cinnamon Rolls." (They do kinda resemble cinnamon rolls, so...) Mom would make these rolls for dinner every now and then when we were kids. You can mix it up a little by altering the meat in the filling or changing the kind of soup you use -- the original recipe used vegetable soup, but Mom liked Golden Mushroom better.

BEEF PINWHEEL ROLLS
1 lb. ground beef
a few tablespoons onion, finely minced
1 10.75-oz can Golden Mushroom soup, divided
1 recipe Biscuits Supreme (or be lazy and mix up a batch of Bisquick instead)

In a nonstick skillet, cook minced onion until just translucent. Add beef and cook until browned, draining excess fat from pan. Add half the can of Golden Mushroom soup (undiluted) and stir until beef mixture is heated through. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Prepare Biscuits Supreme dough or Bisquick. On a lightly floured surface, pat dough out into rectangle. Spread top with beef mixture and gently roll up, sealing edges well to keep dough from unrolling. Cut roll into slices about ¾" thick and place on baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes or until rolls are browned. Heat the rest of the Golden Mushroom soup (undiluted) and ladle over tops of rolls as a sauce. Serve immediately.

Probably serves 6-8.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

This is comfort food (carbs covered in fat) at its most basic. Mom says there are several ways to make this, but here's the one I wrote down. Also, if you want to make Julie happy there are few easier ways than to serve her this as part of a homemade meal.

I'm too lazy to eyeball amounts in this recipe, but expect to use a lot more milk than you do butter and flour. And if you're using frozen peas, don't cook them a long time; just dump them in, let them heat up, then drain.

CREAMED POTATOES AND PEAS
Red or yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks if large, left whole if tiny
Peas
Butter
Flour
Milk
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the potatoes until nearly done, then add peas and cook just until peas are heated through. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan large enough to hold the potatoes and peas, cook equal amounts of butter and flour until bubbly, but not browned. To this roux, add milk, stirring mixture constantly with a whisk until it makes a fairly thick sauce. Turn drained potatoes and peas into sauce and stir well to combine, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Swedish Pancakes

Really Swedish. Grandpa's recipe.

SWEDISH PANCAKES
6 or 7 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
1½ cups milk
¾ cup flour
2 tablespoons oil

In a bowl, mix together eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar with electric mixer, then beat in milk. Add flour and mix well, then add oil and mix again. You want a nice thin batter to make nice thin pancakes, right?

Fry in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Roll up and add melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, strawberry or blueberry jam, or Swedish lingonberry preserves. Mm yeah.

Makes a few, but don't worry, they always get eaten.

Contributor: Soozcat via Karl Eriksson

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I think this one is Auntie Kathie's, and it's a make-ahead casserole. The long refrigeration time allows the corn tortillas to soak up the juices and become more like the masa in tamales.

CHICKEN TORTILLA CASSEROLE
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb. cheese (such as Cheddar, Colby or Monterey Jack), grated
1 can green chili salsa
1 can diced green chiles
1 onion, grated
2 cups milk
a few tablespoons of chicken stock
12 corn tortillas, cut in 1" strips

Grease a 9x13" pan and put in a few tablespoons of chicken stock, just enough to glaze the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, mix together soups, onion, green chiles and salsa. In the prepared pan, layer tortilla strips, chicken, soup mixture and cheese; repeat two or three times, ending with a layer of cheese. (It's like Mexican lasagne!) Cover with foil and refrigerate casserole 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake casserole for 1½ hours, uncovering the last half hour, until browned and bubbly.  Serves 8.

Stolen from Kathleen Ashton, cook extraordinaire!

Pumpkin Bread

It's getting to that time of year when pumpkins are available and cheap. So get on out to the market and buy fixings for yummy deliciousness!

PUMPKIN BREAD
1 ½ cups sugar (or half sugar and half molasses)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ⅔ cups flour, sifted
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon each cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves (ground ginger is also good)
2 eggs
½ cup salad oil
1 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together dry ingredients. Mix together eggs, oil and pumpkin and add to dry ingredients, stirring to combine. Bake 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf.

If you make this for your neighbors they will love you FOR. EVER.

Contributor: Karin Buck

Funeral Potatoes

Everyone has a different version of this recipe. This is how the Buck family makes 'em.

FUNERAL POTATOES
32 oz. bag frozen Southern-style hash browns, thawed*
2 10.5-oz. cans condensed cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (Vanessa says mushroom is better)
1 pint sour cream
1 small onion, finely minced, or the same amount of green onions (aka scallions), finely minced
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese (the sharper the better, IMO)
¼ cup melted butter
crushed cornflakes and additional butter for topping**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. At this point you may sauté the onion in a little butter if you want to make sure the onion flavor isn't too overpowering in the final dish, but it's up to you. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except cornflakes and butter; turn into a lightly greased 9x13" glass casserole dish. Combine a generous amount of crushed cornflakes with enough melted butter to hold them together and sprinkle it over the top of the casserole. Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and browned. Soooooo many carbs.

Serves 8 people or 1 hungry teenage boy.

*This casserole was originally created to use up leftover baked potatoes. If you don't have a bag of hash browns but you do have whole potatoes, you can still make this if you're willing to do a little more work. Peel about 2 lbs. worth of russet or red potatoes and cut them into small dice. Rinse off the excess starch, pour diced potatoes into a pot, cover with water and boil about 5 minutes or until they're just barely cooked (remember, they'll cook another 45 minutes in the oven). Drain potatoes completely and proceed with recipe.

**I've also made the casserole topping using crushed Kettle brand salt and pepper potato chips and butter. I thought it tasted pretty good, but Vanessa informs me that this variation is culinary heresy. For her it's cornflakes or nothin'.

Stolen from numerous Mormon farming cookbooks and tweaked to perfection!